September 22
There is today a pale, pathetic, and unflinching interpretation of the blessed gospel, which guarantees salvation as “a financially and socially upgrading experience”; then it finalizes the offer by “a superlative bonus in eternity and comfort world without end.” How different was Paul’s concept of a disciple of Christ! Look at his vivid interpretation: “I think God has exhibited us apostles as the lowest of the low—like gallows birds; for we have become a spectacle to the universe, both angels and men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, while you are most prudent Christians; we are feeble...
Read MoreSeptember 21
Is the Bible to be taken literally? Yes. And no. Like any great piece of literature, there are some literal, some figurative and metaphorical sections. If something is metaphorical, it does not mean it isn’t true; it is true but is being described in a different way. For example, we read about “chains of darkness” that imprison some rebellious angels (2 Pet 2:4). Are they literal chains? What good would iron chains be in holding spirit beings? But whatever they are, they do restrict the freedom of these angels. It should also be noted that some things are to be taken both literally and...
Read MoreSeptember 20
“Neither were thankful” (Rom 1:21). Leonard Lindsted tells of an incident at a bus stop during the days of WWII. Rationing involved the use of “mills,” red plastic coins worth a fraction of a cent. A man dropped one, and it rolled through the crowd to Leonard’s feet. He picked it up and handed it back. “Thanks for a tenth of a cent!” the man said. “You’re welcome; you don’t meet many who would thank you for something like that.” “Whatever my faults, ingratitude isn’t one of them.” Lindsted saw the bus approaching. “I’m wondering, if you would express thanks for a mill, undoubtedly you would...
Read MoreSeptember 19
My beloved first-born son and his precious wife have such a challenge with two special needs sons. As I grieved for them recently on a family holiday, the question gripped me, “Are you more compassionate than their heavenly Father?” Would I be like the one who snipped the restrictive opening of the chrysalis of an Emperor moth, only to watch the ease of the creature’s exit turn to tragedy? The struggles were needed to force the expansion of the wings, without which the moth could never fly. It has been well said that God had one Son without sin, but none without suffering. Those who question...
Read MoreSeptember 18
“What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mt 16:26). While this is almost always applied to the lost, it was spoken by the Lord to His own. To turn it around, since your soul has been rescued by God’s Champion, what will you give Him in gratitude for such heavenly heroism? Here’s what David said “in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,…And he said, I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength” (Ps 18:1). “Now what will you give this gentleman for saving your life?” the grateful mother asked her little daughter as she stood before strong John Ellerthorpe,...
Read MoreSeptember 17
Leonard Sheldrake reminds us that “No work is more noble or fraught with more blessed possibilities than sowing the seeds of the gospel.” What to sow? “The sower sows the word” (Mk 4:14). When should we sow? “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Eccl 11:6). Where do we sow? “Blessed are you who sow beside all waters” (Isa 32:20). How should we sow? “He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6). And the result? Great rejoicing! “He who...
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